Ripe apples drop about my head;
The luscious clusters of the vine
Upon my mouth do crush their wine;
The nectarine and curious peach
Into my hands themselves do reach;
Stumbling on melons, as I pass,
Ensnared with flowers, I fall on grass.
Extract from Andrew Marvell's Thoughts in a Garden
I would love, one day, to be able say of Marvell's words, 'that is my garden', a delight for all the senses.
I have been at home now, not working, for a couple of months. So far I have spent many hours in the garden, baked five loaves of bread, written 18,000 words of fiction and just sat. That doesn't sound right, grammatically, it reminds me of the the Northern English expression, 'I was just sat there'. Anyway, for the first time ever I have just been sitting and listening to the suburban sounds-dogs barking, lawnmowers, children laughing and crying, bees buzzing, traffic droning. It is a liberating experience to have that time, not to read or plan or even think, just to sit.
The garden was completely neglected last year because I spent every minute of my spare time studying. However, most plants survived and weeds thrived. I have spent many hours removing tenacious runners of buffalo grass and some other grass I call bastard grass. The roses were looking a bit forlorn and the Red Pierre was on the verge of death. However, I fertilised them and sprayed them and now they are into a magnificent autumn flush.
I planted out 20 parsley seedlings which the snails ate the first night. I have sowed some carrots and am preparing a plot to plant seedling of cavalo nero, silverbeet and two kinds of broccoli. I am trying to avoid using snail bait, but the destruction at the moment is so complete I think I have no choice, unfortunately. Perhaps when the garden full of plants we can share.
After countless hours of pulling out lawn, I read Jackie French's book on self-sufficiency and realised I can just dump grass clippings on the lawn, then some hay and compost, and plant seedlings in that. What a relief! She reckons the fertilisers and lawn clippings will kill the lawn underneath. I am a bit skeptical about that but we shall see.
